Abstract

Since its recent introduction to the filtration industry, one of the major concerns about the use of fiber in water treatment has been its applicability for high-rate filtration while minimizing the build-up of headloss. In this study, a compact, modular filter employing non-woven, highly porous polypropylene fiber as filter media was investigated for the treatment of turbid water under high filtration rates. The impact of different operating variables such as polyaluminum chloride (PAC) dose and filtration rate on the effluent turbidity and headloss were investigated. Due to the fiber's high porosity, the filter was able to retain solids at a filtration rate of up to 1,500 m/day without headloss. When PAC was added, the effluent turbidity decreased significantly with the lowest observed when the dose was 1 mg/L. Furthermore, the effluent turbidity was found to increase with the filtration rate. During all the experiments, no headloss was observed except when the filtration rate was 2,250 m/day or when the PAC dose was 5 mg/L. In terms of its compactness and applicability at very high filtration rates, the polypropylene fiber filter can have a considerable advantage compared to other filters.